31 March 2021

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

OUR SCHOOL VISION IS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS IN BECOMING STRONG, THOUGHTFUL AND INDEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS WHO ASPIRE TO BE THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE. OUR ETHOS OFFERS STUDENT CENTERED EDUCATION THAT IS FOCUSSED ON BOTH THE PRESENT AND DEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS OF STUDENTS.

School Board

The School Board had its second successful meeting of the year.

The School Board is still seeking another parent representative. School Board members take part in: establishing and reviewing the school’s objectives, priorities and general policy directions and evaluating the school’s performance.

If you are interested in supporting your school through the School Board please email me. For more information please see

Get to know and meet the newest member of our School Board – Alaa Abu Jayyab

1. Tell everyone why you decided to become a member of the Somerly Primary School Board
   I have moved to Clarkson in 2016 and this year both my kids are attending Somerly Primary School. With the majority of their time spent at school, I wanted to be a part of this environment and to help out with what I know where I can. I also felt the importance of having a representation in the School Board from different cultures.
2. Tell everyone about your background
   I am originally from Jordan and I moved to Australia back in 2010. I graduated with an Engineering degree and now I am studying my Master’s degree at Edith Cowan University. I have worked in several fields like mining, manufacturing, government, and telecommunication. Most importantly, I am a single mother of two beautiful girls. As I always tell them, they are my greatest accomplishment.

Important Dates to Remember

Students return to school in Term 2 on Monday 19th April. There will be no School Development Day on this Monday as the whole RUMA network are due to hold our School Development Day on Friday 23rd April.

Term 2, Week 1 will commence Monday 19th April – Thursday 22nd April with Friday a School Development Day. This will mean you will have an extra long weekend as Monday 26th April is the ANZAC Day public holiday. Week 2 will commence Tuesday 27th April – Friday 30th April 2021.

The school will hold its ANZAC Day Ceremony on Thursday 22nd April 2021, Week 1. I would like to extend a formal invitation out to any direct family members of students within our school who are in the armed forces or previously served their country in the armed forces. Please inform the front office or respond by email to Somerly.PS@education.wa.edu.au with details.

P & C 2021

A big thank you to all new and returning parents that attended the P&C AGM held on Monday 22nd March and congratulations to the newly the appointed members of the P&C.

A big focus for the P&C will be to increase our membership base and as such you may see them around at whole school events, such as assemblies and you would have seen them set up last Friday at the Parent Meetings. Every parent of the school is welcome to become a member of the P&C and I strongly encourage you to be a part of this new and energetic team. Membership is an annual fee of only $1 and the students of Somerly Primary School benefit from your involvement.

Thank you for your donations to our Easter Raffle. The annual Easter Raffle will be held on Thursday 1st April 2021 at 1.45pm. Students are invited to wear an Easter hat for a short parade during the assembly.

Fathering Project

We are looking forward to the launch of our first Fathering Project for 2021 on Friday May 7th 2021, kindly supported by the Somerly Primary School P&C. The launch will take place at Somerly Primary School and will be a Pizza and Planes night.

Dads and fathering figures are encouraged to join the group. The Fathering Project is an opportunity to have fun with your kids and become part of a strong and supportive network of dads and father figures connected to Somerly Primary School.

TTFM – Tell Them From Me Reminder

Just a reminder to all parents regarding our TTFM survey. As part of our continued focus on school effectiveness, Somerly Primary School is participating in an online survey for students and parents. This will be the third year the school has participated in these surveys and have formed an integral part of our school evaluation and planning process.

We greatly value the role of parents and carers within our school community and look forward to receiving your feedback. The more responses we get the more accurate results we have, which can be used to make further improvement plans. The survey will take approximately 20 – 30 mins of your time and will be a range of multiple choice and open ended response questions. Please look out for this in the coming weeks.

Notes regarding the student survey were sent home during the week. Please contact the school if you have any questions.

AEDC

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a population based measure of how children have developed by the time they start school. It looks at five areas of early childhood development: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based), and communication skills and general knowledge.

Data collection for the 2021 AEDC will take place in Term 2 this year. You are not required to do anything as part of this census. Teachers complete the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (similar to a questionnaire) for children in their first year of full-time school using a secure data entry system. The Instrument is completed based on the teacher’s knowledge and observations of the children in their class. Children are not required to be present while teachers complete the Instrument.

Home Reading and Step Into School

Reading is the focus of our homework program at Somerly Primary School. Thank you to all parents for your support of our Home Reading Program and completing our Home Reading Logs for each night of reading. Reading is essential in students’ learning across all areas of the curriculum. Please see your class teacher if you are having any difficulties and concerns.

A good way to develop positive relationships with school and reading is to come along to our Step into School Program. Step Into School is a program we run for children that are not yet attending full time school. You can bring your child along to participate in some games, a shared reading experience and a craft activity where they can socialise with other children. There is no cost involved and it is great way to become familiar with the school. Mrs Lawrence is already preparing an exciting calendar for Term 2, commencing with an ANZAC themed activity for Week 1.

Winter School Uniform

Please note our Uniform Concepts Clarkson store will be closed on the following dates for April school holidays.

CLOSED from 6PM Thursday 1st April & REOPENING 9am Wednesday 14th April 2021

As the cold weather approaches please ensure your child has the appropriate school uniform. Students will not be permitted to wear hoodies.

Holiday Wishes

I would like to thank all the students, parents and staff for a wonderful start to the 2021 school year. It has been a privilege to lead and be a part of such a wonderful school.

The permanent Principal appointment will be finalised throughout the holidays and we will inform you as soon as possible.

Wishing you all a happy, safe and relaxing holiday and I am looking forward to seeing you back in Term 2.

Regards
Zoe Stenhouse
Principal

STARS

Behaviour Focus

Our behaviour focus for Week 9 is:-

Play areas responsibilities

• We leave the play areas to get a drink and go to the toilet when the first siren goes
• We are back at our class when the second siren goes

Students Late to School

If your child arrives late to school, they are missing critical morning routines and learning activities. The school day begins at 8:40am and students will be considered late if they do not arrive by this time. If your child arrives after 9:00am you are required to enter through the front office and provide us with a reason for the lateness. A late slip will be printed for you to give to the class teacher.

Not Feeling Well?

If your child is not feeling well before school, please keep them home and notify the office by phoning 6206 4200, sending an SMS to 0437 480 486 or emailing somerly.ps@education.wa.edu.au.

Late Collection of Students

Somerly Primary School has a student finish time of 2.45pm each day. If your child has not been picked up before 3pm, you will be required to come to the front office to sign them out.

Toddler Activity Group

Learning Focus

Block 4

Year 2 – Room 16, Room 17 and Room 18

Year Two - Term One

We have had a fantastic start to Year 2 this term and we cannot believe how quickly it has gone. Students have worked hard and it has been great to see so many of them grow in confidence and achieve their goals.

English

In English we have been focusing on Recount Writing, students have looked at the structure of a recount and how they can make their writing more exciting. We have written recounts about special events at school, our weekends and our days. During our Writing lessons we have also integrated our Reading focus, students have been writing retells of texts read and orally retelling them too.

It has been pleasing to see so many students complete their Home Reading each night. A reminder to please return Reading Logs to school at least once a week for checking. We are looking forward to presenting students with their Bronze and Silver Reading Certificates next term.

Maths

This term we have been busy learning new concepts. We have learnt how to add and subtract 10 and 20 from numbers, we have looked at numbers to 1000 and have built these numbers using MAB blocks, learnt how to write these numbers in words and numbers as well as on a number expander. We have answered addition and subtraction problems and we are beginning to choose our own strategy to show the best way to solve the problem. We have also looked at time to the hour, half hour, quarter past and quarter to the hour on both an analogue and digital clock. Over the last two weeks we have also learnt about adding coins and notes, students were very excited about this concept and couldn’t wait to use this new skill at the shops.

Science

As part of our Science unit this term, we have looked at ‘All Mixed Up’. Students have investigated what happens when you mix different materials such as paint, coco, cornflower and rice bubbles together. We have talked about how these mixtures have changed, their appearance, feel and texture.

We would like to wish all families a safe, relaxing and fun holiday. See you next Term!

Zoe Hamand, Jane Pavlinovich, Katia Bue and Mitchell Steele

Chaplain’s corner

Good day parents and care givers,

Can you believe that we are at the end of Term 1? It has been a crazy busy term but also a great one.

I am happy to inform you that our Community Pantry has been restocked and has more variety than ever before, thanks to a lot of donations that we received over the last week. Just to remind you again, the Community Pantry is located in the old Uniform Shop in the undercover area next to the Canteen.

The Community Pantry will be open every day. Should you want to pop into the pantry after 9:20am and before 2:30pm, could you please sign in at the front office. Even though the door to the Pantry might be closed, it will be unlocked. Please, feel free to go in and help yourself to any items you may need.

During the last few weeks, a few students have come up to me during break to ask if they can have a quick chat. This will normally be with regards to something worrying them or trouble on the playground or friendship issues. To make sure that our students’ needs are met, I would love to make sure that they are always welcome to come and discuss things that might prevent them from focussing in class – no matter how small or big the problem might be for them. Sometimes just saying the worry out loud might make them feel better already.

At Somerly Primary School, we want to make sure that parents are always aware of services that children might access at school. If there are any parents that would NOT like their children talking to the Chaplain, could you please let the Front Office know as soon as possible.

Have a wonderful Easter holiday and remember stay safe, stay connected, and have fun during the holiday. Remember, I am always ready to help in any way I can. I will be at the school every Tuesday and Friday. If there is any way I can support your child/children, or yourself – please feel free to give me a call on (08) 62064200.

Have a great week!

Kind regards,
Marilize Basson (Chaplain)

P & C

MEET YOUR NEW P&C

Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM last Monday night.

We welcomed both returning and new parents to the P&C for 2021!

We are pleased to announce our new P&C Office Bearers as elected at the Annual General Meeting:

President: Lauren Clark
Vice President: Cheryl Deville
Secretary: Matt Spencer
Treasurer: Tan Viandante
Fundraising: Rose Manson

The Office Bearers consist of roles to which members of the P&C are democratically nominated and elected each year. They take special responsibility for certain aspects of running the P&C in the school.

We also welcome

• Safiyyah Kahn, Sheldon Clark, Nick Chauhan and Kathleen Milner as our executive committee members.

You do not have to be an Executive Member to participate in the P&C. Everyone is welcome.

If you were unable to attend the meeting, but still want to be part of the P&C, please complete a copy of the P&C membership form and place it in the P&C mailbox found in the School Office. Place the form in an envelope marked “Attention of the P&C Secretary” and include the $1 annual membership fee.

We need you and want your support. The membership form can be found on the file section of this parenting page.

We wish to thank our outgoing members for all of their assistance through 2020, and wish you all the best on your future endeavours.